Kon Knueppel expressed his and his team’s desire to make it to the playoffs now that they’re in tight contention to secure a spot in the Play-In Tournament. The 20-year-old etched his name in history as the youngest in the NBA to touch a milestone mark of over 250 3-pointers made. He now leads the league in 3-pointers with 253.
Kon Knueppel Believes the Hornets Are Ready for a Postseason Run
Knueppel has emerged as one of the rookie stars with a strong catch-and-shoot ability and off-ball movement. He has been the secondary playmaker behind LaMelo Ball, who runs the offense as the starting point guard. But with the recent feat against the New York Knicks, the 20-year-old proved why he deserves to earn the highest rookie honor in the NBA.
The game also marked the first time he notched 26 points with 10 rebounds, although he didn’t yet reach double digits in assists. A team that began slowly and made up its mind to rebuild, rather than be in tough spots for the Play-In Tournament and playoffs, has racked up 5 wins in a row to sit tied for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic.
In a postgame courtside interview, Knueppel revealed that he and his team are working toward making the postseason after battling their way among the top 10 in the East.
“We want to play in big-time games. This is a big-time game. The rest of these games for us are big-time, playoff-like games. They determine our seeding, and we want to give ourselves the best chance we can for the playoffs,” he said.
The Hornets started 16-28, sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference, and were expected to extend their playoff drought to 10 years after missing the last 9 seasons. However, they edged past opponents to post a 39-34 record, marking arguably one of the best turnarounds this season.
On offense, Charlotte has shown more improvement than any other team, scoring 11.8 more points per 100 possessions than in 2024-25. They’ve also improved defensively, considering the fact that they were low on players at the beginning of the season. Brandon Miller, one of the cornerstones of the Hornets, sat out 13 games due to a dislocated shoulder.
Ball has also been absent from the lineups due to lingering injury issues but has remained healthy for the most part. In the recent Hornets-Knicks game, Ball scored 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Miller tallied 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. They will next be in action against the Philadelphia 76ers on March 28, 2026.
